Academy stakes its claim on diversity

St. Louis-based coding boot camp Claim Academy continues to attract a diverse student body and train a diverse workforce of coders to meet the needs of St. Louis’ and the nation’s employers. Approximately 10,000 high-paying, unfilled software development jobs in Missouri (primarily in St. Louis and Kansas City) go unfilled every year.

Far too many U.S. companies still fall short when it comes to hiring minorities and staffing their IT and software development departments. While employment numbers continue to improve for all Americans, including minority groups and women, minority participation and employment at millions of companies, specifically companies in the tech sector, or within the software development departments of many corporations, remains disappointingly small.

What is the solution? Claim Academy, a coding boot camp headquartered in downtown St. Louis, believes it starts with recruiting, training, and placing more women, African Americans, and other minority groups in great positions in software development and tech. The skills gap is the most significant hurdle for many minorities seeking career opportunities. Without the proper skills, gaining entry into the lucrative tech and software development fields is difficult. Access to sufficient funds, grants, scholarships, or loan opportunities may also pose an obstacle to gaining the skills and training needed to acquire the necessary coding skills essential for gainful, full-time employment. Other challenges such as affordable daycare, housing, transportation, and the difficulty of working a job and attending school full-time, may present even more challenges to minorities and women pursuing an education and employment in the software development and tech sectors.

Even tech giants like Facebook, Apple, and Google are struggling to employ more talented minority software developers. Their outreach and PR efforts have produced great press but little in the way of tangible results. Facebook, the ubiquitous social media platform and tech giant, has an overwhelmingly white and male staff. In fact, just barely 3 percent of the social media giant’s team includes African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities.

Claim Academy, founded by entrepreneur and Nigerian immigrant Ola Ayeni, is keenly aware of this shortage of minority talent and the pervasive skills and opportunities gap nationwide. Claim Academy, a top-rated boot camp, is doing something about it. Its most recent minority student body (African Americans, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and women) student composition percentages (last six months) averaged 55 percent for each class. More than half of Claim Academy’s student body falls into one of the protected statuses. Women account for 20 percent of the academy’s current student body. Nationwide, women only make up 24 percent of the tech workforce. Claim Academy, educators, recruiters, and employers are working to improve these participation, graduation, and placement rates.

“St. Louis companies and employers around the country need coding talent now,” Ayeni said. “We take pride in our direct contribution to training a diverse, inclusive, and talented workforce, including minorities and women. These jobs are in demand and are high-paying.”

Claim Academy reflects a diverse America and a diverse workforce. Both its staff and student body are highly diverse and reflect the changing America that’s built on inclusivity and striving to create workplaces that reflect the mosaic that is America. Colleges, trade schools, and coding boot camps recognize the obstacles that stand in the way of women, African Americans, and other minority groups when it comes to obtaining funding, an excellent education, hard skills, and ultimately, a job. Employment in the tech/software development sectors for minorities and women still lags behind that of white males. Part of this may be attributed to the lack of exposure many minorities have to the world of coding, tuition funds, scholarships, transportation, and a whole host of other issues that may not affect wealthier, more-educated demos.

Ayeni summed up Claim Academy’s mission this way: “Claim Academy strives to improve opportunities for every individual that dedicates himself or herself to learning, studying hard, and working hard. Claim Academy believes that anyone of any race, ethnicity, gender, or background, can learn to code, land a great job, and enjoy unlimited success.”